Webby Awards: Laverne Cox to Be Honored for LGBTQ Advocacy Work (EXCLUSIVE)

Laverne Cox will be honored as advocate of the year at the upcoming 2022 Webby Awards.

The actor and producer will be recognized by the International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences (IADAS) for her LGBTQ advocacy work.

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“Laverne Cox understands the true power of showing up by example,” Webby Awards president Claire Graves told Variety exclusively on Tuesday morning. “She is a clear, consistent and powerful voice advocating in defense of Black trans lives, and we are so proud to recognize her as the 2022 Webby Advocate of the Year, selected by a committee chaired by the NAACP and IADAS.”

Hosted by comedian Roy Wood Jr., the Webby Awards will take place May 16 at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City. The ceremony will be presented by Verizon.

The evening will feature the awards’ signature five-word winner speeches.

Cox, best known for work as Sophia on “Orange Is the New Black,” is an Emmy nominee who has also been honored by GLAAD, The Transgender Law Center, Out, Time, Glamour and Ebony.

In addition to Cox, others special achievement honorees include Megan Thee Stallion, Drew Barrymore, Takashi Murakami, “Severance” star Adam Scott, organizers of Florida’s “Say Gay” movement and NFT inventors Anil Dash and Kevin McCoy.

Previously announced Webby Award winners include Savage x Fenty, Gordon Ramsay, “Sesame Street’s” YouTube channel, the Smartless podcast, The 1619 Project, “The Laverne Cox Show,” “The Queen of Basketball,” Billie Eilish x Beat Saber for Oculus Quest 2, “The Roxanne Gay Agenda,” “Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend,” “Lilly Singh Celebrates Diwali Traditions and New Beginnings With Johnnie Walker,” The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” “Jimmy Kimmel Live! Mean Tweets” and “The Problem With Jon Stewart.”

Aïssa Maïga to Be Honored with a Frankie Award

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and SAWA Global Cinema Advertising Association are launching an eight-week PSA campaign today to raise awareness about climate emergency.

In the 60-second “Don’t Choose Extinction” ad, a computer-generated dinosaur named Frankie is seen storming into the United Nations General Assembly to urge diplomats to tackle the climate crisis.

Senegal-born French actor Aïssa Maïga, who voices Frankie for French cinemas, will receive a Frankie Award at “Don’t Choose Extinction’s” red-carpet launch on May 11 at the Times Center in New York City.

“Climate change disproportionately affects those living in poverty, who suffer the most devastating effects of droughts, floods and too many other disasters,” Maïga said in a statement. “I am proud to lend my voice to Frankie in the Don’t Choose Extinction campaign ad because it advocates for green and equitable solutions that leave no one behind.”